There are a variety of events, experiences and circumstances that can cause trauma.
It is important to note that what is traumatic can be different for every individual. Two people can experience the same situation; this doesn’t necessarily mean that both will find the event to be traumatic. Everyone defines trauma differently.
Often a traumatic event is one that threatens or harms you or your loved ones’ mental, physical, and/or emotional safety.
A traumatic experience can occur at any age. An individual may experience similar or different traumas at different times in their life.
These can include, but are not limited to:
- Being raped, sexually abused or sexually assaulted
- Being physically abused/assaulted
- Experiencing or witnessing domestic violence
- Experiencing traumatic grief (the sudden or violent death of a loved one)
- Witnessing a loved one or another individual experience bodily harm, violence, or domestic abuse
- A traumatic experience can also be caused by witnessing a distressing situation (i.e., witnessing an overdose can be a traumatic experience)/
- Experiencing bullying
- Living with chronic pain
- Experiencing racism or discrimination
- Being in a serious accident (eg. a car accident)
It’s important to note that many, many experiences can cause trauma. Any experience that makes you feel overwhelmed and distressed, and threatens your sense of safety can be a traumatic experience.
Experiences that can cause trauma – Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
In the introduction, we discussed how experiencing trauma early in childhood and adolescence can increase your risk of negative physical and mental health conditions.
Adverse childhood experiences are specific experiences that can cause trauma in children under 18.
The 10 adverse childhood experiences are shown here.
Some of these have to do with the child themselves experiencing abuse and/or neglect. The other experiences concern the environment the child grows up in.
- For a child, having a parent who has substance use problems can be a potentially traumatic experience.
The more adverse childhood experiences a child has, the more their risk of negative physical and mental health conditions increases.